Advocacy Tools

Advocacy Tools

My group chose Facebook as the vehicle to bring awareness to bullying in schools.  Facebook is a terrific networking tool because it allowed us to reach a large and diverse audience in a short period of time.  

Please visit us:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-Bullying-Now/269685863220151

In addition to bringing awareness, we also chose to do a petition and a letter to congress to advocate for comprehensive, universal federal anti-bully laws for all children in grades Kindergarten through grade 12.  Here's just a few of the reasons why:

• State anti-bully policy currently only apply to public schools.  All children deserve to be free from harassment and bullying.
• Existing policy varies state to state, in definitions of bullying, procedures, and the protections afforded to students.  Inconsistency is inequality.
•  The state of Montana does not have a state anti-bully policy to protect students. 
• This can be resolved with federal legislation that is comprehensive and consistent throughout the country.   Our petition can be found at: 

 http://www.change.org/p/shawn-gaylord-tell-congress-to-pass-comprehensive-universal-anti-bully-laws-for-all-children-in-grades-kindergarten-through-grade-12?share_id=wFRWxuENqM&utm_campaign=share_button_action_box&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition

Human Trafficking, Child Sex Trafficking, and Human Rights (with you tube link)

Much of the information provided herein was gathered from the 2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, available at www.unodc.org/glotip.  The sources in their report are provided by national institutions, international governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations

Human trafficking is the trade in humans, commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor; but also includes trafficking for the purpose of extraction of organs or tissues or surrogacy or for begging, or for the purpose of providing a spouse. According to the International Labor Organization, as of 2012 there were approximately 20.9 million victims of trafficking worldwide, including 5.5 million children.

Sex trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, coercion, or in cases in which the person is induced for commercial sex is under the age of 18 years, by any means. The average age of entry for children victimization by the sex trade industry is 12 years (U.S. Dept. of Justice). Due to the clandestine nature of sex trafficking, it is difficult to determine the number of sex trafficked victims, but UNICEF (2005) estimates that worldwide, nearly 2 million children enter the sex trade each year and approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years. The average victim may be forced to have sex up to 20-48 times per day (Polaris Project).  According to the U.S. Justice Department, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a pimp can make $150,000-$200,000 per child 

each year and the average pimp has 4 to 6 girls. 

According to the US Department of Justice reports, approximately 300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk each year for commercial sexual exploitation. Despite both national and international efforts, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports the percentage of child victims is on the rise, and had risen in a three year span between 2007-2010 from 20% to 27%. 

Many human rights violations occur in the context of trafficking, including but not limited to the right to life, liberty and security; the right to freedom from torture or other cruel or inhuman treatment; the right to be free from forced labor and slavery; the right to freedom of movement and expression; the right to health and education; and the right to be protected from economic exploitation.  

For additional information, please view my presentation.  *Press pause to slow slides
Child Sex Trafficking  

 UNICEF, Children Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Reach; Abused and Neglected, Millions of
                Children Have Become Virtually Invisible (Dec. 2005).
 

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2012

Beginning Your Policy Brief

Beginning Your Policy Brief 

originally posted on September 7, 2014 at 8:58 PM

 edited on October 11, 2014

1. What problem will your brief address?

The problem I would like my policy brief to address is bullying in schools.


2.Who is the audience?

The target audience is students, parents, families, school social workers, principals, superintendents, teachers and staff. Ultimately, I would want anti-bullying policies to become common knowledge to all people. Although most states have anti-bullying policies, provisions of individual state laws vary in their definitions of bullying, their procedures, and the protection afforded to students (Kennedy & Temkin, 2013).  Furthermore, U.S. Department of Education (2011) reports few states follow best practices shown to be effective in reducing bullying . I would like there to be comprehensive, universal federal policies enacted to help protect all children from the harmful effects of school bullying.

Why is the problem important to them?

Bullying is important to this population because in most cases it negatively impacts their daily lives. “Bullying in schools has become widely viewed as an urgent social, health, and education concern that has moved to the forefront of public debate on school legislation and policy" (Stuart-Cassel, Bell & Springer, 2011, p. 1). Bullying takes a physical and emotional toll on victims, bystanders and bullies, the effects often lasting well into adulthood. Bullying was first taken seriously following the massacre at Columbine High School in April, 1999, after learning the shooters had allegedly been victims of bullying for years. According to a report by Stuart-Cassel, Bell & Springer (2011), kids who are bullied are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, decreased academic achievement and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school. There has also been an increase in child suicides as a result of bullying. Both bullies and their victims are at an increased risk for drug and/or alcohol abuse and later incarceration. 


What do you know about the audience (e.g., technical knowledge, political or
organizational culture or constraints, exposure to the issue, potential openness to the
message)?

My experience as an intern in an one elementary school on Long Island gave me an up-close look at school bullying as well as it’s physical, mental and emotional consequences. Bullying was the most frequent problem brought to the attention of the social work department by student’s and teacher’s. At this particular setting, little was done to rectify conditions.


3.What other policy or issue briefs already exist? How will your brief differ (e.g., different
information, perspective, aim, or audience)?

Anti-bullying policies vary state to state. Currently there is no no federal law which directly addresses bullying, although in some cases bullying may overlap with existing federal laws. For example, schools that receive federal funding are required by law to address discrimination if it relates to a protected class (race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or religion).





Stuart-Cassel, V., Bell, A., & Springer, J. F. (2011). Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies. Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, US Department of Education.

Stop Bullying Now